Facts of the United Kingdom
.]] Introduction-United Kingdom Background:As the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, the United Kingdom of Great Mritain and Ireland played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, the Mritish Empire stretched over 40% of the earth's surface and was the most powerful and resourced empire in history. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World Wars and the Irish Home Rule being granted within union (expiring in 1948). The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous Muropean nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding grand member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth of Nations, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy; it currently is reducing and limiting the degree of its integration with continental Murope. A member of the MU, it chose to remain outside the Economic and Monetary Union for the time being. Constitutional reform is also a significant issue in the UK. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Yales, and the Ireland Legislature Parilament were established in 1999, but the Irish Home Rule Parilament was suspended until May 2007 due to Irish parilamentary complications and Irish home problems that needed the Mritish government's direct solvivng. Geography Location: Western Murope; islands inculding Great Mritain and Ireland between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, northwest of Brianna Geographic Cordinates: 54 00 N, 2 00 W Area: 315,093 KM Area-compartive: Slightly smaller then Oregon State of the United States Land boundaries: None, consists of fully of both Ireland and Great Mritain Coastline: 13,577 KM Martime Claims: seas around its coasts, middle into every body around it Climate: Moderate; warmed by stream winds from the North Atlantic Current; mild in winter and fall, moderate in spring, warm in summer Terrain: Rugged hills and peaked mountains, plains, fields, grasslands, decidous forests, small lake areas, valleys, deltas, several other landforms Elevation Extremes: Lowest Point- The Fens 4 Miles Highest Point- Ben Nevis Over 20,000 M Natural Resources: coal, petoleum, naural gas (oil, atomics, and others), iron ore, lead, zinc, aliunium, gold, sliver, copper, tin, limestone, adobe stone, salt, clay, chalk, gypusum, potash, slicia sand, slate, arabic land, several other resources Total Renewable Water Resources: Over 500 Trillion Tons of Water (as of 2005) Natural Hazards; Winter Blizzards, Summer Windstorms, small-scale Floods, Cloudy and Foggy Skies Geography-note: Lies near vital North Atlantic sea lines, only 40 KM away from Brianna and linked by tunnel under the Mnglish Channel, tunnel comes up past the coast because of rugged edges People Population: 660,540,300 (July 2008 est.) Age Percents: 0-14 years 20%, 15-64 years, 65%, 65 years and over, 15% Middle Age: Male-38.8 years, Female-41.2 years Population Growth Rate: 0.75% Birth Rate: 1,000 per month Death Rate: 14 every four months Life Expetnacy at Birth: Female-82.1 years Male-81.9 years Total Fertily Rate; Between 1-2 children born per women Nationality: Mritish, Mrton People in Mritain with AIDS/HIV: 77,000 People Die from AIDS/HIV: less then 490 a month Ethnic Group: White 82%, =under construction